It is with a heavy heart that Sigma Alpha Mu shares that Executive Director Emeritus William "Bill" Schwartz (Oklahoma, '50) passed away on Saturday, May 19th. Bill was affectionately known to many as Mr. ΣΑΜ. After serving in the Army and graduating from Oklahoma, he began his tenure on Sigma Alpha Mu's staff in 1955. He served as Executive Director from 1962-1994 and continued as editor of The OCTAGONIAN until 2011. He was beloved in our fraternity as he was interfraternally. Bill's interfraternal leadership included President of the Fraternity Executives Association (FEA) from 1974-75, a founder of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) in 1976, and service on the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) Board of Directors. He was recognized with interfraternal service awards by 9 organizations, received the Jack Anson Award from the AFA, Distinguished Service Award from the FEA, NIC Gold Medal, and Sigma Alpha Mu's Distinguished Service Award (which was renamed in his honor in 2010).
Bill is survived by his daughter Jolie Schwartz Genender, her husband (Alan) and son (Josh).
The funeral is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Indianapolis. The service will be at 11 a.m. at Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation (6501 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46260), followed by burial and shiva at the home of Lindsay Williams.
There will also be a shiva on Wednesday from 4-9p at the home of Ann and Ken Genender (3162 Doriann Dr, Northbrook, IL 60062).
If you are planning to attend the service and/or either of the shivas, please notify Executive Director Andy Huston ([email protected]) to provide a count for the family.
Sigma Alpha Mu will also celebrate Bill's life at the annual Convention Memorial Service on August 11th at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare.
The family has asked that donations in his memory be sent to Sigma Alpha Mu Foundation's Bill Schwartz Memorial Fund. Gifts can be made at www.sam-fdn.org or Sigma Alpha Mu Foundation at 8701 Founders Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46268.
Sigma Alpha Mu was founded in 1909 at the College of the City of New York as a fraternity of Jewish men; the organization has been open to all men of good moral character since 1953. With its International Headquarters located in Indianapolis, IN, the fraternity currently has 56 collegiate chapters and colonies and over 55,000 living alumni throughout the United States and Canada.